Day 8: Part 1
"I'm not sure I'm ready for this…" Kate sighed stopping at the entrance of NAVCOM
"Kate…" he stopped in front of her pulling his hat off
"Why now? After knowing about our transfers for a day why did she choose to now call us in?" she looked up at him
"I don't know, if I knew I'd help you understand but Kate…"
"When Commander White calls you in for an unexpected meeting it's never good news"
"What's she going to do hmm?" he reached a hand across
"Mike it's Maxine, Knocker remember"
"Don't let her hear you say that" he teased
"I'm serious, what if…"
"Hey…" he grabbed her hand in his
"Enough of this, there is nothing she can do not now"
"Mike…"
"Maxine will not destroy us, she will not destroy our future" he ran his finger over her rings a small smile creeping onto his face
"So much for a honeymoon, spending our first day as a married couple at NAVCOM… not exactly what I had in mind" she rolled her eyes
"We'll get one, but first…" he looked at the entrance where fellow sailors were entering and exiting
"But…"
"No buts"
"But if you'd just let me…" she tried saying
"I said no buts, except maybe yours" he cut her off again, giving her his girly grin
"Would you stop" she shook her head
"Everything will be fine"
"How can you be so sure?"
"Because we will do this together" he smiled sadly
"Did I mention just how lucky I am to have you in my life?" she smirked
"You may have mentioned it a few times"
"Mike… I love you" she squeezed his hand for comfort,
knowing now was not the place for any form of romantic displays
"And I love you, now you ready to do this?" he took a deep breath in,
smiling softly Kate let his hand go grabbing his hat from his other hand she shifted placing it back on his head
"Let's do this Sailor"
"After you, Mrs Flynn" he placed his hand on her lower back
"You're just lapping that up aren't you?" she grinned
"Oh yeah" he laughed softly leading her towards the building as the big double doors opened.
"Well don't you two look cosy" his voice came from behind them as they sat in Maxine's office 10 minutes later
"Marshall?" Mike looked at him confused when he moved towards the desk
"I thought… I thought you were in Canberra Sir?" Kate cleared her throat
"Got a transfer back" he shrugged placing the folder he had in his arms down
"Ah… I don't mean to be rude but um where's Maxine?" Mike looked around
"Commander White is no longer working at this facility"
"I'm sorry what?" Kate's eyes widened
"It's come to our attention Commander White has been using her Navy presence for her own personal needs, refusing promotions, blackmailing fellow sailors" he sat down across from them
"So…"
"She's been sent to Canberra where the Commodore can keep a close eye on her himself"
"I'm confused it wasn't Maxine who called us in for a meeting?" Mike shifted in his chair
"That would be me, I have a proposition for you both" he reached for the folder he placed down
"A proposition?" Kate asked confused
"Fact is Kate, Cairns don't won't to lose two of our finest sailors, so the Fleet command have asked me to handle this case personally"
"Right…"
"We want you to come back, with Kate as Commanding Officer on Hammersley and Mike as my right-hand man here at NAVCOM" he pushed the folder across the desk to face them
"What?" Kate looked at him unsure
"It's entirely up to you, no pressure of course but the offer is there" Steve shifted back in his chair
"But… What about Sydney?" Mike picked up the folder
"If Sydney is what you want then I wish you well, but Mike I'm asking as a friend we want you both to stay"
"You really think I'm CO material?" Kate finally spoke
"The BRASS and Fleet Command both think your ready and they understand neither of you really want to leave, when you had your meeting they could sense that Cairns was your home it was were you're meant to be where any future Flynn/McGregor children are meant to grow up" he smiled
"Sir I…" Mike began saying when a knock at the door interrupted them
"Yes?" Steve called out the door opened slowly
"Sorry to interrupt Sir but I've got a Commander White on line two for you" the young sailor answered
"Right, I'll take it out there" he nodded
"Yes Sir" she smiled moving back into the open area
"I'll give you two a minute to talk" Steve arose from his chair
"Steve…" Mike tried to stop him
"Your married now Mike, this decision it is something you need to choose together I will come back once I'm finished" he exited the office closing the door behind him.
"This is…"
"So unexpected" Kate moved to stand
"Kate… how are you feeling about all this?" Mike placed the folder back on the desk
"Well I…"
"Honestly?" he turned in his chair to face her
"I don't know…" she shrugged
"Kate this opportunity, it… it's a once in a lifetime occurrence"
"You hate shore postings Mike…"
"I was taking a shore posting in Sydney what's the difference?" he moved to stand
"No one can run Hammersley Mike it's…"
"What?"
"It's your baby, seeing someone else in charge while your stuck here behind a desk…" she sighed
"Kate…" he moved to stand in front of her
"I can't do that to you"
"There's no one I trust more then you to be in charge of Hammersley, it won't be hard working here and knowing your out there taking care of her"
"But what about our new life, our fresh start…" she stepped forward gripping his shirt
"If you want to go we'll go"
"Mike…"
"But if you want to stay" he brushed a loose piece of hair behind her ear
"I…"
"I will follow you anywhere, just say the word" he looked down at her carefully
"Cairns… It's your home, my home and I want it to be the home of our future kids" she slowly looked up at him
"So…"
"I don't want to leave Cairns; I want this to always be our home"
"Then we will accept Commander Marshall's offer" he smiled softly
"We?"
"A shore posting is something I always dreaded if I'm being honest, but… getting to have a life with you creating our future I would have given Hammersley up years ago if it meant I could have you" he moved his hands against her cheeks
"You Mike Flynn are the biggest softy" she grinned
"Don't go telling everyone my secrets" he winked leaning in
when the door opened Kate cleared her throat while Mike quickly stepped back
"Sorry about that just Maxine complaining about the fileing system now…" he stopped near the desk
"Sir… We've made a decision…" Mike grasped Kate's hand in his
"Oh?" he raised an eyebrow….
(Sorry it's only a short chapter guys! Been one hell of a day here, promise to upload a super long one tomorrow. Hope you enjoy! Xx)